'Isaac' update: On track for South Florida

Isaac could blast near South Florida by Monday, according to the most recent reports from meteorologists.

The National Hurricane Center’s latest report noted Wednesday evening that tropical storm Isaac has winds near 45 mph and “some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours” as it nears the U.S. coast. So far, hurricane warnings or watches are in place for areas that include parts of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Haiti and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the report said. It could become a Category I hurricane by Thursday night or Friday, according to reports.

Florida could be slammed by early next week, said NBC meteorologist Bill Karins.

“It still could be off the coast of Florida or could be down here by Cuba come early Monday morning,” said Karins on MSNBC’s “First Look” Wednesday morning. He added, “Right now … it looks like sometime on Monday, Florida should be dealing with Hurricane Isaac. It looks like a Monday, Tuesday event with all eyes on Tampa and the convention there. There’s going to be a lot of issues with this storm.”

He said that on Sunday, meteorologists will have a much better idea of the direction and strength of Isaac.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn downplayed the threat Wednesday morning, saying that there’s plenty of time to prepare for the possibility of Isaac.

“I’m not really worried about this one yet,” Buckhorn said on CNN’s “Starting Point.” “The good thing about living in Florida is, we’re accustomed to this. This is our reality every storm season. So we’ve trained for this … but, you know, we’re monitoring it, we’re watching it, we’re tracking it. I think we’re going to be okay, but we’ll be prepared in the event that it heads this way.”

Buckhorn said that safety will come first — going so far as to say that he would cancel or reschedule the convention, if necessary — but he said the experienced staffers working on convention logistics won’t be fazed by weather.

“You’ve got some professionals down here that have done 10 or 12 of these conventions. They’re ice cold, nothing bothers them, you know, they know we’re going to deal with our side of it,” Buckhorn said. But, he added, “Obviously public safety is going to trump politics. If we had to make that decision to cancel or to postpone or move the convention, we will do that knowing full well that my obligation and the city’s obligation is to move people out of harm’s way. The politics will take care of itself.”

Meanwhile, the storm has already caused one major cancellation — the Guantanamo Bay hearings for Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four others charged as his 9/11 co-conspirators were postponed due to Isaac, The Washington Post reported.